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The Bolivian beauty talks about her role in The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez. Check out our Q/A and trailer below!

How did you get into acting?

Well, I started out as a tennis player in Bolivia. I eventually received a college scholarship to play tennis at Georgetown University. With the scholarship I was able to come to the States and study acting. Through the university I got offered a couple of shows in L.A. I ended up booking a part for Baywatch and then Televisa hired me in Mexico City. From there I went to Venezuela to Miami with Univision and then to TVONE in Spain. Then seven years ago I ended up hosting E! Extreme on E! All of sudden I started booking shows like CSI: Miami, Without a Trace, and other shows. I thought it’d be great to do TV shows in the States and then return to South America to do indie films as well.

Tell us about your role in The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez.

The Latin beauty is great because [Hollywood] appreciates it very much but on the other hand it has also become a sexy, bimbo stereotype. For me my role as Solena was very interesting because it dealt with the dignity of our culture. It’s for the children of the immigrants who work in valet parking or are waiters. It was an important flag to carry.

What did you learn from the late legendary actor, Ernest Borgnine?

He was the type of actor who was real down to Earth. He said that the most he’s learned in his career was from his fellow actors. He had a real communication with all of us and that’s this biggest thing I learned from him. You can develop a real empathy when you create a real connection with your fellow actors. Your emotions come off as real on screen. He kept on telling me, “You’re great, you’re great.”

What’s next for you?

I just finished producing a film, Olvidados (The Forgotten Ones) that I co-wrote with Elia Petridis (The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez’s director). It’s about a dictatorship in South America in the late ‘70s. I think it’s going to be a very important film for Latin America.

What’s your holiday wish for your fellow Bolivians?

Washington D.C. has the biggest population of Bolivians outside of Bolivia. I know they work the whole year to spend the holidays with their families in South America so my message for them is to continue to strive. It gets better.